Sacred and Federal Laws Violated at Kosher Slaughterhouse

PETA’s investigator witnessed egregiously cruel slaughter
methods being used at an AgriProcessors kosher slaughterhouse in
Postville, Iowa. Cattle, chickens, and turkeys suffered through
prolonged consciousness after having their throats cut and being
dismembered while still fully conscious. Many instances of
inhumane slaughter were captured on film. The following are
excerpts from the investigator’s notes:

The cow was loaded into a machine that resembles a large metal
tube. His head stuck out of the front, then a metal bar clamped
under his neck and forced his head upwards and back, cocked in
an awkward and painful-looking position. The entire machine
rotated, turning the cow upside-down. This process seemed to
terrify him—his eyes were wide with fright—I imagine because he
had never been in such a helpless position. The cow’s exposed
neck was scrubbed with a hose and brush, then a rabbi came out
of a small room and slit the cow’s throat. Another worker
followed the rabbi and gouged a chunk of flesh out of the cow’s
neck and then pulled his trachea or esophagus (I’m not sure
which one) outside of his throat so that it hung down. Then the
machine reverted the cow into an upright position. The trap door
on the side opened up and the cow was dumped onto the floor,
where another worker attached a chain to the animal’s ankle so
that he could be hoisted into the air and sent down the line.

Many cows were still alive and conscious when
they came out of the tube and were slammed onto the floor. Their
heads often hit the concrete with a sickening crack. I watched
as one cow landed on his feet and started scrambling around with
a shocked look on his face. The workers simply jumped behind
their barricade and waited for him to collapse.

A cow stood up after being dumped on the floor
and went into the corner. They managed to kill one or two more
cows while he lay there moving around trying to stand up. He
continually moved his nearly severed head around ï¿½ as his legs
were also making an effort to stand.

Some birds fell after being placed into
buckets—these birds flopped around on the ground violently, and
once stopped, they were thrown into the garbage.

I took footage of chickens in trailers where
the vents/fans were not running. It’s August 11 and really hot.
I also took footage of the dumping of chickens onto the conveyor
system to be killed. I noticed that one chicken had her foot
caught between the conveyor and the wall, and she was unable to
pull her foot out.

The auger broke today. That’s the machinery
that brings the inedible parts out to the trailer to be dumped.
The inedible matter went all over the basement. The maintenance
man told me that the inedible matter was sent to be used in pet
food and cosmetics.

The USDA inspector, Chad, told me that there
is another kosher plant in Waterloo called Cason. They use a
different method, one recommended by Temple Grandin, where the
cows are lowered onto their stomachs instead of being turned
upside-down in this horrible machine.

I filmed another chicken who was caught in the
conveyor system of the poultry line. This time, the chicken’s
head and wing were caught between the retaining wall and the
conveyor. I did my best to free her, but access to the conveyor
itself was blocked.

The first time I saw a cow stagger to his feet
and walk around with his trachea dangling outside of his body, I
thought to myself, this can’t be happening—but after several
days I knew better.

The suffering and cruelty I witnessed didn’t
phase anyone on that killing floor.

I just wish that people who eat meat could
stand where I did for a day and see cows whose eyes are wide
with fright have their throats slit and tracheas gouged out.

There is no justification for the cruelty I
documented in that slaughterhouse. The presence of the USDA
didn’t have any effect, nor did the presence of the rabbis.
These animals were failed by both religion and regulations.

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